Dahlmann, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH

Dahlmann, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH, German historian, was born May 13, 1785, at Wismar. His earlier studies in Copenhagen and Halle were devoted to archaeology and philology; but his attention was subsequently directed to the study of politics and the history of the middle ages. From 1813 on, he filled the chair of History at Kiel, and in 1829 was appointed to that of Political Science in Göttingen, where he published (1830) his invaluable Quellenkunde der deutschen Geschichte. Banished in 1837 by King Ernst August of Hanover, on account of his protest against the abolition of the Hanoverian constitution, he went to Leipzig, next to Jena, where he wrote his historical masterpiece, Geschichte von Dänemark (3 vols. 1840-43). In 1842 he became Professor of History at Bonn, and took a prominent part in the political affairs of Germany after the movement in 1848, heading the constitutional liberals, who were unfortunately too reasonable to be successful. At the close of the struggle, he returned to his academic duties, to which he devoted himself till his death, 5th December 1860. See Life, by A. Springer (2 vols. Leip. 1870-72).